If You Can't Take the Heat
by Keegan Elizabeth
Summary: Setting of the story is one week after "Play with Fire." This is a prompt challenge from Jenstog. Includes GSR, line dancing, monkeys, Sara's butt, and a fight. Enjoy!


A/N1: Sorry for the reposting! I caught like 5 stupid mistakes so I came back to correct them!

A/N2: If any of you read my WIP, Memories, then you should know I have been having some writer's block issues. I was talking to Jen (as in the fabulous **Jenstog**), and she had just finished a prompt (go check it out), and I told her I wanted one thinking that maybe it will get my creative juices flowing. So she sent me one.

The Prompts:

GSR (Can be Canon or Not)

Grissom Catches Nick Checking Out Sara's Butt

Greg Must Say, "Well, Monkeys Do It!"

Hodges Teaches Warrick How to Line Dance

Sara and Grissom Have a Fight

She gave me no word limit (obviously), and she said I could pick the time frame. When I read Sara and Grissom fight, the episode "Play with Fire" came to mind. When I read Hodges teaches Warrick how to line dance, I automatically thought of "Achy Breaky Heart" (yes, I know a bit embarrassing). In my defense, I had just recently watched the Top 100 Songs of the 1990s on VH1, and that song was listed! It also explains why there are some older songs mentioned and included in this fanfic.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of CSI and its characters. I also claim no ownership of the songs listed, "3 A.M." (I do, however, own two concert tickets to see Matchbox Twenty!), "Achy Breaky Heart," "Building a Mystery," and "Iris." Also the line step dances, I won't lie. I knew how to line dance when I was younger (hello, "Achy Breaky Heart" was huge and I will admit I might have had a crush on Billy Ray Cyrus when I was 7/8 yrs old). Nonetheless, I had to look up the moves. And there's a YouTube video (you can find anything there) called "Achy Breaky Heart Steps," and that's where Hodges instructions came from. Go check that out. I had a lot of fun at 1:30 in the morning trying out the moves… it might have something to do with the fact that I was drinking a midori sour…and looking up alcohol shots ;-D

Slight warning as there is some language and some adult situations lol... however, I didn't think it warranted a M rating. So read with caution?

So to conclude my extremely long-ass author's note, I want to say a MILLION thanks to Jen for the prompt because I had so much fun writing this! And I want to thank Becky (**BeckyCSI**) for the quick beta. This is my first prompt I attempted so please let me know what you think. Tell me what you liked/what you hated. Lastly, for those of you reading Memories, I PROMISE I'm getting back to the story like ASAP!

* * *

Sara had taken a cab because she didn't want to worry about driving home in case she had too much to drink. 

As the cab pulled up to its destination, she handed the cab driver the fare she owed him and said a simple thank you as she carefully maneuvered out of the cab's backseat.

She was wearing a dress and two-inch stilettos so she was trying to be careful not to flash anyone or to fall when getting out of the vehicle.

Standing outside of the building, Sara noted the line to get into the club was long. The place was called The Roxy. It was a new nightclub/bar on the Las Vegas strip and had only been open for about three months. According to Nick, the place had gotten rave reviews.

Nick had suggested checking out the new club after they had all caught up on some much-needed sleep. They had just finished a particularly hellish three days with a case involving a missing child. Thankfully, they had found the little girl alive. Still, they needed to unwind and so they had all agreed that it sounded like a good plan.

They were supposed to meet at the bar at nine, and she was running late.

It was a half hour past nine.

_Damn it._

It was her fault. She had woken up and gotten a wild hair to go buy a new outfit. So she had gone to the mall and fought the crowds –something that had not put her in a good mood. Then she hadn't found anything. Everything she tried on just didn't feel right or look right. She had been annoyed and tired as she was leaving the mall so she had almost missed it. The dress was on a mannequin in a store's window. She would never have dreamed of shopping at the store because it was too trendy, which translated into too pricey. Too out of her budget, but the dress had called to her like a siren, and she could not resist.

She had told herself that it didn't hurt to go in and to look. _I probably won't be able to find my size anyway._ The store had her size. _It will probably not fit right on me either. _It did. The red fabric clung and molded to her body like it had been designed with her body in mind.

When the two sales ladies had spent fifteen minutes "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" over how fabulous the dress looked on her, she had ignored the rational part of her brain that told her it was their job to get people to buy.

She had needed new shoes as well. A woman cannot have a new dress without new shoes. It would be wrong or so Tracey and Stephanie, the two sales ladies, had claimed. At this point, who was she to disagree? So she had tried on the two-inch gold stilettos after much cajoling from Tracey, who had promised that they were comfortable. Surprisingly, the shoes were. Plus, the stilettos made her already long legs look longer and leaner, which was something guys liked Stephanie told her in confidence.

Then she had to buy a new purse because apparently with the dress she was wearing she couldn't carry a 'normal' purse. She just had to have an evening purse. A mini gold clutch was the perfect accessory. She vaguely wondered what the heck she could fit in it as she carried her selections to the counter.

Tracey rang up her purchases, and the amount made her gasp. She had just spent nearly three hundred dollars, which was more than she had spent on most of her clothes in her closet combined.

It was insane.

She had probably just gone crazy.

But she didn't care. She felt decadent. She wanted a new outfit; she deserved one. She was going to look hot when she went out tonight.

When she had gotten home, she unloaded her packages and enjoyed a relaxing bubble bath. In her bathroom, she put on her makeup for the evening. She usually didn't wear much. She never saw much sense in it because she dealt with dead bodies and those that were alive were often murderers. So what was the point? There wasn't much reason for her to 'dress up.' That did not mean that she didn't know how. She was just a bit rusty, however, so she ended up having to wash her face and start over once but then she got it. She remembered how to accentuate her eyes to make them 'pop.' She used an iridescent gold as her eye shadow and applied some black mascara to her lashes. She quickly brushed on some blush and finished with some shimmering lip-gloss on her lips. Taking a critical look at her finished face, Sara blinked in shock. She looked different. A good different, she decided.

Next, she had to decide what to do with her hair. She debated for a few minutes between leaving her hair down versus pulling it up. She never felt like she could fix her hair quite good enough. In the end, she decided to pull it up because she figured she might get hot if the club was crowded. So she twisted her hair back and held it in place with a clip. Then she pulled a few strands loose to curl around her face.

Stepping out of her bathroom, she headed to her dresser to grab a pair of simple gold hoops from her jewelry box and placed them in her ears. Next, Sara dropped her towel in the laundry basket and headed over to her bed where she had placed her packages. Before heading home, she had stopped at one last store. Victoria's Secrets. The dress she had bought was a halter style dress, and it left her back bare so she needed to buy a bra for the dress. She had ended up purchasing a matching bra and panties in the color of pale champagne.

After slipping into her new lacey lingerie, Sara put on her new dress and shoes while taking care to not mess up her hair.

She had walked over to her full-length mirror, which she rarely ever used, and stopped in mid-stride.

_Oh my God. This isn't really me? Is it?_

Was it bad that she almost didn't recognize the woman staring back at her in the mirror?

The dress had looked good on her at the store. That was why she had bought it. But then teamed up with the shoes, the makeup, the hair…

_I look hot. Seriously hot. Damn._

She giggled at the thought that the guys might not recognize her. Then she sobered at the thought of one particular man.

It was because of him that she had this uncharacteristic whim to look extra sexy.

_Damn that man._

_He needs to see for himself what he would be missing. He could have been so lucky! Although, it's not like he will even come to the club tonight. He probably will just stay home and play with his bug collection!_

Well, she did not care. She didn't. He said he didn't know what to do about this –whatever the hell 'this' was. She decided that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of waiting around until he took his head out from under the microscope. She would find a man that did know what to do…

With that thought in mind, she had packed her purse with what Stephanie and Tracey had claimed were the essentials for an evening purse. A cell phone, lip-gloss, breath mints, twenty dollars in cash (because apparently a hot chick like herself should expect free drinks), and a couple of condoms. "Always be prepared," Stephanie had said. She sounded like a freaking boy scout.

Before she left for the evening, she had taken one last look at herself in the mirror and had questioned her sanity. She wasn't quite sure she could go out in public like this. She wasn't used to wearing something so revealing.

She felt a bit scandalous, to be honest.

_I can do this. There are women who wear far less. I look good. I'm going to go out, join my friends, and have a good time._

It had taken her thirty more minutes to convince herself so that was why she was running late and was just now arriving outside the club.

She couldn't help it. She had a mini-crisis.

As she headed toward the end of the line, the bouncer whistled and called out, "Yo, sweet thing in the smokin' red dress. Come here."

It took Sara a few seconds for her mind to register that he was talking to her. She was the one in the smokin' red dress.

"Yes?" she asked, still unsure if she liked being called a 'sweet thing' by a total stranger.

"You look like that… you don't have to wait in line," the big, burly black man informed her.

"Oh," she said. _Hmm, this was nice._ As she entered the club, she heard a few grumbles in the crowd about her getting in without having to wait. _Well, it wasn't like she had cut line intentionally…_

_Tonight is going to be interesting, that's for sure._

The club was nice. Trendy. Clean. Not too smoky, which was a major plus. It had an air of money but not so much as to be snooty. A bar lined the entire left side of the club. Tables and booths were everywhere. A huge dance floor dominated the middle of the club where people were already busy dancing.

The club was packed.

_How the heck am I going to find anyone in here?_

As she opened her evening bag to get out her cell phone so she could call Nick, she heard a familiar male voice behind her.

"Sara?" he inquired.

She turned around and saw Greg standing with his mouth wide open and his eyes nearly bugging out.

"Hi, Greg."

"You. Look. Hot. Wow. Um, yeah, okay. You're a babe. Total babe. Damn!" Greg babbled as he mimed fanning himself with his hand.

She laughed. She couldn't help it.

"Thanks, I think. So do you know where everyone else is?" Sara asked.

"That was most definitely a compliment. Yeah, I know where they are. I was headed to the bar actually, but I can show you where we are sitting first. It's just you, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Hodges, and me for the moment. I'm not sure if Grissom and Brass are coming or not," Greg said as he deftly led her through the crowd of partiers.

A few minutes later, the crowd thinned out, and Sara spotted where the team was sitting.

When Nick and Warrick saw Sara, they immediately jumped up and rushed over. Nick gave her a quick hug and then kept his hands on her arms as he inspected her outfit.

"Damn. You look great, Sara" Nick told her.

Warrick seconded the opinion. "Yeah. You're looking fine tonight, girl."

"Thanks, guys. Geez, do I look so horrible at work? It's just a bit of makeup and a dress. That's all," Sara said.

"Sara, do _not_ underestimate the power of a red dress. Especially on you, darling," Nick said, clutching his heart dramatically.

Sara giggled at Nick's dramatics. "So the effect would not have been the same if this was let's say a black dress?" she teased.

Slinging an arm around her shoulder, Nick led Sara to their table and told her that he was sure that if she were wearing a black dress, then she would still have stopped traffic and his heart as well.

"Why thank you, handsome," Sara tossed back saucily. She was here to have a good time and the casual flirting with Nick was just fun. Nick was one very, very fine specimen of a man; however, she did not think of him in a romantic kind of way. More the pity, she thought at times. He was more like a brother to her. One very fine looking brother. Hey, she could appreciate the way his butt looked in jeans…

At the table, Sara greeted Catherine and Hodges as she sat down. "Hey. How's it going?"

_xxx_

_Meanwhile in another part of town..._

Pounding on his friend's door, Captain Jim Brass yelled, "Grissom, open up! I know you're in there. Don't make me kick your door down…"

One very irritated looking Gil Grissom opened the door to his townhouse and scowled at the man on his front doorstep. "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to greet a guest? Where are all the pleasantries? You're going to have to work on your interpersonal skills," Brass said as he pushed his way into his friend's townhouse, much to Grissom's dismay. He had just wanted to be left alone.

Brass walked into Grissom's kitchen and opened his fridge. Grissom followed with his arms folded across his chest.

Brass ignored him as he searched the refrigerator. _Bingo._ Pulling out two bottles of beer, he handed Grissom one and popped the top to the one he still held.

Opening the bottle he held and taking a long swallow, Grissom said dryly, "Well, make yourself at home, why don't you?"

Brass decided to disregard his friend's obvious foul temper. For the past week, Grissom had been in a bad mood. He had been short with people and had snapped unnecessarily at several people in the lab. Brass wasn't sure what his friend's problem was, but he suspected that it might have something to do with Sara. Whenever the two were in the same room this past week, the temperature had dropped several degrees. It was ridiculous, and something needed to be done about it so here he was placing himself in the line of fire for the good of the lab. If he ended up with battle scars, then so be it. Sacrifices had to be made.

He walked into Grissom's living room only to find the coffee table and half the couch covered in forensic and science journals.

"What are you doing tonight? Paper macheing?" Brass joked.

"I'm catching up on some new articles and re-reading some old journals. Do you have some sort of problem with that?" Grissom asked, defiantly.

"Yeah, actually I do. The team is out tonight, and you were invited. Yet here you are at home. Why is that?" Brass questioned.

"Maybe it's because I wanted to stay in tonight," Grissom retorted. He wasn't going to tell Brass the real reason why he didn't want to go. He was trying to avoid a certain curvy brunette. It had been a week since she had turned his world upside down by asking him out. And he was pissed. He didn't need her messing up his carefully controlled life.

Brass scoffed, "Yeah, Grissom, I know you're the bug man and everything but you need to actually socialize with humans every now and then. Quit closing yourself off."

"If I wanted your advice, then I would have asked for it. I'm happy. Okay? Leave it alone. Some things –some people –are better left off alone," Grissom said, thinking of Sara. She would be better off without him.

"Keep telling yourself that Grissom. Those journals aren't going to keep you warm on a cold night. But whatever. You have fun by yourself. I'm going to go and join the human race and have a good time," Brass said as he turned to leave.

"Wait." _Damn it._ "I'll go," Grissom said. _I can't believe I just agreed to go._

Brass smirked. Before he turned around, he schooled his face to a more serious look. "Okay, good. Why don't you go change shirts before we leave?"

Grissom glanced down at the shirt he was wearing. Pointing at it, he asked incredulous, "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Well, Grissom that Hawaiian print shirt might be a good look if you were going to a luau but I don't think it will quite fit with the club scene. Just put on a polo shirt," Brass suggested.

Grissom grumbled all the way to his bedroom. "You would think it's enough that I said I would go. But oh, no he has to start making fun of my clothing choices…"

_xxx_

_Back at The Roxy…_

"One, two, three! Bottoms up," the crime lab chanted as they clinked their shot glasses together and then downed the contents.

Slapping a hand down on the table, Hodges gasped, "What the hell was that?"

Warrick, not so gently, patted Hodges on the back. "You okay there? Maybe you should leave the hard core drinking to the professionals and go buy yourself a fruity drink."

Nick and Greg both laughed at Warrick's suggestion.

Hodges just ignored their laughter and pushed his chair away from the table. "Yeah, I'm going to go get something that doesn't feel like I just swallowed dragon's fire."

As he walked away, Warrick and Nick yelled out, "Wimp!"

"Guys, come on, you really shouldn't be mean to Hodges…or well not that much," Sara said, chuckling.

Sara was enjoying herself, and she was really glad that she had decided to come out and join the group. It had been about twenty minutes since she arrived, and they had just been sharing some appetizers while chilling. It was nice.

_She says its cold outside and she hands me a raincoat_

_She's always worried about things like that _

_She says its all gonna end and it might as well be my fault_

As the opening lines of Matchbox Twenty's song "3 A.M." played through the club's speakers, Catherine said, "Oh, I used to love this song."

"The club is playing a lot of older songs tonight, aren't they?" Sara commented.

"Yeah, apparently tonight's theme is songs from the 1990s. When we first got here, MC Hammer's "Cant Touch This" was playing. Man, that brought back some memories," Warrick said.

Catherine laughed and teased, "I bet you had some Hammer pants, didn't you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't hate. Appreciate. I looked super fly in them, too," Warrick said.

"I'm sure you did," Catherine agreed.

"You better believe it."

Hodges came back with a drink in his hand and sat back down.

"What did you get?" Greg asked.

"Sex on the beach. Some girl told me to order it. I think she wanted me," Hodges declared proudly.

"More like wanted to make a fool of you. That's a girl's drink," Nick said, laughing.

Taking another sip from his drink, Hodges said, "Well, I like sex on the beach." Realizing his mistake, he quickly clarified, "The drink I mean…"

Catherine chimed in, "The actual thing is highly overrated. Eddie and I went to the beach for vacation one year. When night came we took a walk on the beach and one thing led to another. I'm telling you that sand gets everywhere. I mean _everywhere_. A week later I think I was still finding sand where it most definitely should not be…"

No one at the table was surprised by Catherine's story.

Changing the subject, Nick said, "I don't think we have drunk enough, and I think we need to remedy this right away."

"Yes, I second that. It's almost ten o'clock, and I'm still sober," Catherine said.

"Why don't we do some more shots? You know to remind us of life in college. And we can see who can hold their liquor the best," Greg challenged.

"Oh! You are so on," Nick said.

"So what shots do we want?" Greg asked.

Everyone began yelling names of shots at once.

"What about an A-Bomb?"

"Girl scout cookies are amazing," Catherine suggested.

"Oooh, a dirty girl scout," Nick said, earning a high five from both Warrick and Greg. The girls just shook their heads.

"Liquid cocaine," Warrick shouted.

"Flaming Dr. Pepper."

"Surfer on acid."

"Sex with an alligator," Greg put in. "Hey, it's a name of a shot, I swear."

"Beaver in a blender."

"Hairy buffalo."

"I didn't know there were so many shots to do with animals," Catherine said.

"Rocky mountain bear fucker," Nick yelled, triumphant.

"What about a red headed slut?" Warrick asked, grinning.

After that the guys tried to top each other with the dirtiest shot names they could think of.

"Buttery nipples!" Greg yelled. "Those are good."

"Not as good as a wet dream," Nick said.

"What about a porn star?" Warrick chimed in.

"Why don't we add an S&M and a quick fuck as well? And while your picking up your passport to hell, buy Catherine and I an orgasmic scream," Sara said, hoping to end the boy's dirty minded game by shutting them up with her candid talk. She could just imagine how much worse it could get.

"Sounds good to me," Greg said, earning him a punch from Catherine.

Hodges returned from getting another sex on the beach. He had missed the entire talk about shots because he had spilled his drink shortly after he sat down.

"So who is going to the bar to buy our shots?" Catherine asked.

"Sara and I will go," Nick said.

"Oh, I will?" Sara teased.

"Yeah, come on. I know you have been dying to get me all alone," Nick joked back.

"Am I really that transparent? I've been sitting here all night, trying so hard to resist the temptation to jump you."

"Really?" _Damn._

"No, you idiot," Sara said, laughing. The rest of the table joined in the laughter.

"Go on, you two. My mouth is practically parched." Catherine motioned for them to get moving.

Nick and Sara got up and walked to the bar to order the shots.

Ten minutes later, they walked back with Nick carrying a huge tray of shots.

"First of all, that was quick. Secondly, how many shots did you get?" Catherine asked as Sara and Nick retook their seats next to each other at the table.

"Well, we didn't have to wait long because of one Miss Sara Sidle and her red dress. If it had just been me, the male bartender would have just ignored me. However, you take a gorgeous girl to the bar with you and you're waited on immediately. It never fails," Nick informed them.

"Oh, so you just used me for my XX chromosomes then?" Sara asked, pretending to be offended.

"Well, no. It wasn't like that. I wanted you to come with me anyway," Nick said, trying to get himself out of the hole he thought he had put himself into.

Sara laughed as she laid a hand on Nick's arm. "Nick, it's fine. I was just giving you a hard time," she told him. Turning her attention to the rest of the group again, she continued, "They were having two dollar shots –can't beat that price so we got forty shots so that's eight a piece for the five of us since we figured Hodges would stick with his girlie drinks."

"Damn, we are going to be shit-faced. This is going to be so great," Greg said, excited.

"You think? Okay, bring it on. What did you get by the way?" Catherine asked.

Nick told everyone what he and Sara had decided on.

"Sounds good. Let's get started," Warrick said.

Thirty minutes and zero shots left to consume later, Nick said, "Wow. This is old. I loved this song back in the day."

_You can tell the world you never was my girl  
You can burn my clothes when I'm gone  
Or you can tell your friends just what a fool I've been  
And laugh and joke about me on the phone_

"You would have," Warrick replied, laughing.

"I know the dance," Hodges stated.

"There's a dance?"

"Well, it's just a line dance kind of thing. I can teach all of you, if you want," Hodges offered.

"I am not going to learn how to line dance to "Achy Breaky Heart." No Way," Warrick said.

_You can tell my arms to go back onto the phone  
You can tell my feet to hit the floor  
Or you can tell my lips to tell my fingertips  
They won't be reaching out for you no more_

"Why not?" Catherine asked, innocently.

"Yeah, why not? You chicken?" Nick questioned.

"Guys, leave Warrick alone…" Sara said.

"Thanks, Sar," Warrick said, glad to have someone on his side.

She continued, wickedly, "He's probably afraid he'll fall on his ass."

Everyone at the table doubled over in laughter.

"Okay. That's it. Hodges, get up and teach me," Warrick demanded.

Hodges had drunk almost two alcoholic drinks so he was not quite steady as he got up to stand in front of their table.

"Warrick, start with your right foot. Tap to the right once. Bring your foot back. Tap to the right again. Bring it back again," Hodges explained. "Then with your left foot, tap to the left once. Bring your foot back. Tap to the left again and back again. Got it?"

_But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
I just don't think it'd understand  
And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
He might blow up and kill this man  
Ooo  
_

"Next you're going to do two taps to the front with your right foot. Now two taps to the back with your right foot."

_You can tell your ma I moved to Arkansas  
Or you can tell your dog to bite my leg  
Or tell your brother Cliff who's fist can tell my lips  
He never really liked me anyway_

"You're doing good. Now tap your right foot once to the front and once to the back."

_Oh tell your Aunt Louise, tell anything you please  
Myself already knows that I'm okay  
Oh you can tell my eyes to watch out for my mind  
It might be walking out on me today_

"Take your right foot and take one step forward and turn facing to the right," Hodges continued as he demonstrated the steps.

_But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
I just don't think it'd understand  
And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
He might blow up and kill this man  
Ooo_

"Take your left foot and cross it over your right foot. Now take your right foot and kick out."

_But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
I just don't think it'd understand  
And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
He might blow up and kill this man  
Ooo_

"Then you are going to take your right foot and cross over your left. Now kick out with your left foot."

_  
Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
He might blow up and kill this man  
Ooo_

"Bring your legs back together and hop three times, backwards."

_Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
He might blow up and kill this man  
Ooo  
_

"And you just repeat the cycle, continuing in the shape of a square. There you have it," Hodges declared as he finished the steps.

Warrick managed to not look like a total idiot as he mimicked Hodges' steps. However, he was thrilled when the last lyric played.

As Warrick and Hodges made their way back to sit down, the rest of the team broke out in spontaneous applause.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Greg cheered, who clearly was feeling the effects of the shots he had consumed.

"Good job," Nick said.

"Thanks, man," Warrick replied, happy that he had not indeed fallen on his ass.

"I was talking to Hodges actually," Nick corrected, laughing.

"Haha. Very funny," Warrick said.

"Hey, look who's heading our way," Catherine said, causing the occupants of the table to turn around if their backs were to the club's entrance.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Sara muttered darkly under her breath. She didn't think he would show up honestly. And here she was wearing a revealing dress and heels –all to what? Make him see what he was missing? He apparently didn't think she was worth trying for in the first place.

"Sara, did you say something?" Nick asked. He had to lean in to ask since the noise level of the club had increased exponentially.

Sara turned her head toward Nick so that now their lips were mere inches from each other. "What? Oh, no…nothing." Her mind scrambled to come up with a white lie when she heard the opening melody of the next song, giving her an idea. "I was just saying that I love this song. Come on, let's dance," Sara said, jumping up suddenly from the table and grabbing Nick's hand to pull him up before he could refuse. She really didn't want to face Grissom at the moment.

"Uh, yeah. Okay. I will be more than happy to dance with you," Nick said as Sara dragged him to the dance floor.

They passed Grissom and Brass, who were heading to the team's table, briefly. Sara ignored Grissom completely, pretending she hadn't seen him. Nick yelled a quick hello over his shoulder.

_You come out at night__  
__That's when the energy comes__  
__And the dark side's light__  
__And the vampires roam __  
__You strut your rasta wear __  
__And your suicide poem__  
__And a cross from a faith__  
__That died before Jesus came__  
__You're building a mystery_

Brass and Grissom finally reached the table and everyone greeted them.

"Was that…was that Sara who just walked by with Nick?" Grissom asked, still in a bit of shock.

"Yeah, I know. She's looking freaking hot tonight, isn't she? I almost didn't recognize her myself," Greg admitted.

As he had neared the table, Grissom's eyes had been drawn to the lady in red. The club was a typical bar with dim lights 'to set the mood.' When he had seen Nick lean in and then the mystery woman turn towards him, he had just assumed that Nick had brought along a date. He had been disappointed because he hadn't seen Sara. She hadn't come. He had been worried about seeing her here for no reason. He hadn't realized that the woman in the dress was Sara until she passed by him briefly and still he hadn't quite believed it.

_Oh you're so beautiful__  
__With an edge and a charm__  
__But so careful __  
__When I'm in your arms_

"You're a good dancer," Nick said as he and Sara danced to Sarah McLachlan's melodic voice.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself," Sara answered back, grinning.

A man beside Sara had a bit too much to drink and bumped into her (who was still a bit unaccustomed to wearing two-inch stilettos), causing her to falter a bit. "Sorry," said the man, as he made his way off the dance floor.

Nick reached out his arm to steady Sara. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks."

_You woke up screaming aloud__  
__A prayer from your secret god__  
__You feed off our fears__  
__And hold back your tears_

While the rest of the table exchanged small talk, Grissom only pretended to halfway listen. His focus was on the dance floor. More specifically, his focus was on a certain brunette in red. From his vantage point, he did not see the inebriated man who pushed Sara so when he saw Nick reach out and grab Sara's arm he was not too happy. Frowning, he thought to himself that Nick was extremely touchy feely tonight.

Speaking out loud to no one in particular, Grissom declared, "I need a drink."

_'Cause you're working__  
__Building a mystery__  
__Holding on and holding it in__  
__Yeah you're working__  
__Building a mystery__  
__And choosing so carefully_

"I really needed this, Nick. A night out," Sara specified when she saw Nick's confusion. "Thanks for suggesting that we go out as a team."

"Not a problem," Nick responded.

_Yeah you're working__  
__Building a mystery__  
__Holding on and holding it in__  
__Yeah you're working__  
__Building a mystery__  
__And choosing so carefully_

_You're building a mystery_

As the song ended, they stopped dancing and stood awkwardly in front of each other.

"Thank you for the dance," Sara said.

As Sheryl Crow's "All You Wanna Do" came on, Nick asked, "Care to dance some more, my lady," bowing and offering his hand, causing Sara to giggle.

"Oh. Why thank you for such a kind offer. How could I ever resist?"

Four songs later, Sara and Nick breathlessly made their way back to the group's table. Greg had joined them on the dance floor when the New Radicals song "Get What You Give" started playing. When Jay-Z's "Can I Get A" came on Warrick sweet-talked (it didn't take much) Catherine into joining him on the dance floor.

Hodges had stayed seated with Brass and Grissom, presumably to suck up to the boss man.

"Oh my God. That was so much fun," Sara exclaimed as she neared the table.

"Yes. It was," Nick agreed as he pulled out Sara's seat for her.

Sara smiled her thanks in return.

Catherine and Warrick arrived and retook their seats a moment later.

Grissom was now on his third Jack and coke for the evening, and he was none too happy at how close Nick and Sara appeared to be. Not to mention the dress and shoes she was wearing. He had never seen Sara wear something so revealing, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He saw the stares she was getting from men at the club. He didn't like it. Not one bit. Sara, however, seemed oblivious to the attention she was getting.

"So nice of you to rejoin us, Sara," Grissom said.

Sara looked at Grissom, startled at the angry edge she heard in his voice. "What's your problem?"

"I'm not the one who has a problem," Grissom replied, swirling the ice and the dark liquid around before taking another sip of his drink.

Saving Sara from replying, Greg came running up, nearly out of breath and dispelled some of the tension at the table.

"I think I just fell in love," Greg proclaimed as he took a seat to calm his racing heart.

"Oh, really?" Catherine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. She is beautiful. Norwegian, actually. Tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. Nana and Papa Olaf would be so thrilled. She couldn't speak but a few words of English…"

"She couldn't speak much English, and yet you fell in love with her. How did you communicate?" Warrick questioned.

"We communicated on a much deeper level…" Greg said, causing Nick and Warrick to snicker.

Greg glared at both of them as he continued, "Our souls touched each other."

"So where's your soul mate now?" Brass asked.

"See that's just it! We got separated in the crowd during the Jay-Z song, and now I can't find her," Greg said, upset.

"If there weren't so many people, then I could spot her easier," Greg mumbled to himself. "If there was a way to see over the crowd…" he said and then broke off as an idea came to him.

He jumped up from his seat and then hopped onto his vacated seat. Standing on the club's chair, Greg scanned the crowd, jumping up and down a bit to try to see further.

"Greg," Catherine hissed. "Don't climb around on the furniture and quit jumping up and down, for goodness sakes!"

"Well, monkeys do it," Greg said, insolently.

"Monkeys also drink their own urine, too. You going to do that as well?" Catherine asked.

"No." Greg jumped down from the chair and sat back down, looking like a kid at a candy store with no money. "I'm never going to find her now," he said, mournfully.

"Greg, cheer up. If you really are soul mates, then you will find each other again," Sara told him.

Greg turned to look at Sara. Brightening up, he said, "Thanks, Sara. That's true."

"No problem. Glad I could help. I think I'm going to go get something to drink. All that dancing made me thirsty. Anyone else need or want anything?" Sara asked.

Drink orders were called out.

"Okay." Laughing, Sara said, "I hope I can remember all that," as she pushed out her chair and stood up.

"Hold on, Sara. I'll go with you and help you carry the drinks," Catherine offered.

"Be back in a few," Sara said as she and Catherine headed to the club's bar.

Watching Sara walk away, Nick thought, "She has one hell of a backside. Maybe…maybe I should consider starting something with Sara? She's a great girl. I already know we get along well together."

While Nick was contemplating a possible future relationship with Sara, Grissom was mentally burning holes in Nick because he clearly could see where Nick's line of sight was directed. He was also trying to think of ways to make Nick pay. Smiling, he thought, "I'll put him on decomp duty for the next year."

"Why are you smiling, Grissom?" Brass asked.

"Just thinking about work," Grissom responded, still grinning. _It paid to be the boss man sometimes…_

"See what did I tell you? You need to enjoy yourself and not think about work," Brass told his friend, shaking his head in dismay. _Grissom would never learn._

A few moments later, Sara and Catherine returned with drinks for everyone. Sara had ordered water for herself.

"Maybe I should ask Sara to dance. She danced with Nick. She even danced with Warrick when Catherine grabbed Nick away for a dance." In his mind, Grissom was warring with himself. "Oh, come on. Ask her. Okay, after this song finishes I will…"

"Hey, Sara. Would you like to dance some more?" Nick asked, suddenly.

"Damn it," Grissom thought.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go," Sara responded, smiling.

Nick stood, pulled out Sara's chair for her, and then led her to the dance floor again.

The next two songs that were played were fast paced, and Sara ended up laughing at most of Nick's dance moves to the Barenaked Ladies song "One Week."

The song "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls began playing. All around them, couples began pairing up to slow dance.

Nick looked at Sara and asked, "Shall we?"

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now_

Instead of answering, Sara grinned as she stepped closer to Nick and placed her arms around his neck. Nick placed his hands around Sara's waist, and together they began swaying to the music.

_And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
'Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight_

Grissom gave up all pretenses of trying to engage in conversation with the team when he saw Sara put her arms around Nick.

_What is she thinking?_

Grissom sat in his chair, throwing mental daggers at Nick.

_If his hands get any lower, then I'll… How close do they have to be? They are practically glued together…I swear he's going to be on decomp duty for the rest of his career!  
_

As Nick's hands drifted southward, Grissom could stand it no longer. He refused to sit and watch Sara be pawed. It just was not going to happen.

He almost knocked his chair over as he jumped up from it. Without a word to his friends and colleagues, he headed to the dance floor and straight to where Sara and Nick were dancing.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

Grissom tapped Sara on the shoulder, causing her to turn her head. "What?" she asked in confusion as Nick released her.

"We're leaving," Grissom said.

"What? Why? What happened? Is there a case?" Sara questioned.

"No. This has nothing to do with work."

"Okay. Then I'm staying," Sara said, turning her back on him and reaching out for Nick, who was standing there not sure what to think.

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything feels like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive_

Grissom grabbed Sara's arm, making her turn around again. "I said we're leaving."

Sara took her left hand and none too gently removed Grissom's hand from her arm. "Again, I will say that I'm staying. You leave. That's fine with me. I don't know why you have it in your head all of a sudden that you can tell me what to do but newsflash Grissom –you don't own me. Now leave me alone."

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

"Okay. That's fine. I didn't want to resort to this. I didn't. You drove me to this point," Grissom said out loud, not sure if he was really talking to Sara or to himself.

Without any sort of warning, Grissom picked up Sara, throwing her over his shoulder.

Sara yelped while Nick said, "What the hell…"

"Put me down!" Sara demanded as she pounded her fists on Grissom's back. She was hanging upside down. She had a nice view of Grissom's ass though… too bad that she was too furious to appreciate it.

"No. I tried to get you to come with me. You just had to do things the hard way," Grissom told her as he carried her through the crowds.

"Gil Grissom. I am going to kill you!"

_I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am_

"Now, now honey. Calm down. Don't work yourself up."

Sara growled in frustration. "My butt is in the freaking air, and I swear if I am flashing someone right now then there is nowhere on Earth that you can hide and be safe from me," Sara threatened.

"Well, if you're flashing anyone then it's kind of your fault…" he said, earning him another punch on his back and a kick close to his privates. "Whoa, there. Be careful where you aim that stiletto. Like I said you are the one wearing that dress…"

Frustrated, Sara tried again. "Put me down!" She tried to hold her head up as the blood was rushing to her head.

When Grissom continued to ignore her, she decided to implore the people she was passing for some assistance. "Help! This man won't let me go!"

At first, she wasn't getting much of a response but a few people turned to look and were trying to decide whether or not to get invovled. Grissom knew he had to do something quick before they turned on him.

Shifting Sara so he had a better grip on her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet to flip it open to find what he wanted.

"Coming through. Let me through please. This is an official police investigation. I'm a crime scene investigator with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and this woman on my shoulder is a suspect in a double murder," Grissom yelled into the crowd.

"What the hell? Grissom, you are dead!"

"See? She has violent tendencies," he told the crowd, who was busy parting to make room for him to pass.

"He's lying! I'm a crime scene investigator, too!"

"I forgot to mention that before she killed two people she escaped from a mental health hospital. She's been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, and she is a pathological liar," Grissom said to the people as he passed by them.

"I did not kill anyone. And if I did kill someone, then it would be him!" Sara shouted.

_xxx_

Back in the club, Nick had rejoined the group at their table.

"What in the heck just happened? Did Grissom just lose his ever loving mind?" Nick asked.

"I think Grissom finally figured out that his journals won't keep him warm at night," Brass said, cryptically.

_xxx_

Standing on the sidewalk outside the club, Grissom kept a tight hold of Sara. He wasn't letting go of her for many reasons, one of which was fear of what she would do to him once he put her down.

He had ridden to the club with Brass so he did not have his vehicle. He had heard Sara tell Nick earlier that she hadn't drove either so he motioned to hail a cab.

Their timing must have been great because less than a minute later, a cab pulled up. Grissom sat Sara down, opened the cab's backdoor, and gently shoved her in. She tried to shut the door so he couldn't get in as well. However, she quickly realized she could not win in the battle of muscles against him so she gave in and let him join her in the cab.

As Grissom shut the door, the cab driver turned around halfway and inquired, "The address?"

Sara quickly rattled off her address to her apartment. No way was she going to let the cab driver take Grissom home first. He would have to wait to go home until after she arrived at her place. She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. Crossing her arms in front of her, she shifted in her seat to the left and stared out the window into the dark night that was still brightly lit by the neon signs of the Las Vegas strip.

"I can't believe I just carried Sara out of the club like some kind of caveman. Have I lost my mind? If I get criminal charges on this surely a judge would not convict me…surely he will see that Sara drove me to my insanity," Grissom thought.

The ride to Sara's apartment passed by in silence except for the low sounds of music coming from the cab's radio.

When the cab stopped in front of her apartment building, Sara belatedly realized that she had left her purse at the club. Not like she had done that on purprose or anything as she was a bit busy being carried out of the club by a mad man. _Good thing I keep a spare key hidden above my door frame otherwise I would be out of luck. _

"Since you so rudely carried me out of the club, I left my purse there so you will need to pay my share of the cab's fare," Sara told Grissom as she got out of the cab and shut the door. Without a backwards glance, she hurried up the steps to her apartment.

Grissom quickly took out his wallet and paid the cab driver. Saying a brief thank you, he shut the door and hurried to catch up with Sara.

He found her outside her apartment door. As she was about to shut the door, he caught up with her and stuck his foot in the doorway to keep the door from fully closing.

Sara glanced up, startled. Her eyes widened at first and then narrowed as she tried to slam the door shut, without care that his foot was still in the doorway.

"Ouch. Shit, that hurts," he thought, wincing in pain. "Sara, let me in. Please?" he requested as he placed his arm on the door to help keep the pressure off of his foot.

"No. I will not," Sara said, gritting her teeth as she tried with all her might to shut the door in his face. She didn't care. She was mad.

Sara continued to struggle against Grissom until he said, "Sara, you already know how this turns out. You might as well let me in now and save yourself some trouble."

She spent a few moments considering her options, which were either 'let him in now' or 'play tug of war with the door for a while, lose, and then let him in.' Hating that he was right, she sighed as she opened her door to allow him to enter. "Fine."

Shutting the door once Grissom stepped into her apartment, she thought, "I'll give him five minutes. Then I'm going to call the cops. Two can play that game…"

They faced each other. Arms crossed in front of their chests. Faces unreadable. Waiting for the other to say something first.

"Well…" Sara broke the silence first.

"So, where's my apology?" Grissom asked.

"What? Your apology? You owe me one!"

"I owe you one? For what?"

"For what?" Sara yelled, throwing her hands in the air before beginning to pace. "Oh, I don't know, Grissom. Maybe for being so rude to me this evening? Or maybe it was when you grabbed my arm and told me that we were leaving, which you had no right to do. Or, oh wait, here's the best part …maybe it was when you threw me over your freaking shoulder like some kind of neanderthal! And then you told everyone that I was some kind of insane murderer. Take your pick."

Sara stopped her pacing long enough to glare at Grissom. The five minutes she had alloted for him to stay was far from her mind as she became angrier. She could feel her heart begin to beat faster, and she knew her blood pressure was probably close to skyrocketing.

"That is not my fault, Sara. I asked you nicely to come with me," he countered.

"You asked me?" She punctuated each word by poking him in the chest with her index finger. "Oh, no. It was more like demanded. And what the hell do you mean I owe you –YOU –an apology?"

"You're the one who wore that dress tonight and those shoes," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Yes, I did. I happen to like this dress and these shoes. Your point?

"The point is that all the men in the club were staring at you. And they weren't interested in your brain. And Nick…"

"What about Nick?" Sara asked, cutting him off.

"Yeah, Nick. You ask me out a week ago. I say no, and then you what? Offer yourself to the next available body?"

"What?" She couldn't believe what Grissom had just implied.

"I saw you and Nick. Dancing. Flirting. Touching. He had his hands on your ass, for God's sakes!" Grissom shouted. He could feel his blood begin to boil as he got worked up. He had never known what the expression had meant until now.

"You bastard," Sara said so softly that Grissom almost did not hear her.

Grissom continued, completely unaware of how out of line he had been. "Are you interested in Nick?"

Sara had no interest in Nick in any sort of way. No, she had to be attracted to the giant idiot standing in the middle of her living room. Despite that, she was still furious enough with Grissom to pretend that maybe she was drawn to Nick. "So what if I am? There's nothing wrong with that."

"Nick is not right for you, Sara."

"That's your opinion, Grissom –one that I happen not to share. Nick is a great guy. He's funny and charming."

"I never said that he wasn't a great guy. What I said if you would have listened is that he's not the right guy for you!" Grissom shouted.

"Who died and made you the expert on who is and who isn't right for me? I asked you out. You said you didn't know what to do, which pretty much translates to you being too chicken shit to even try. You turned me down, Gris. So what is this? You can't have me so no one else can? You can't have it both ways. So you know what? Screw you."

They were now standing inches from each other. At some point during the argument, the heat that radiated between them had changed. The sparks in the air now had less to do with anger and a whole hell of a lot more to do with something a lot more primal. The air sizzled with sexual tension.

"You know what? You better watch what comes out of your mouth before I'm tempted to show you more interesting ways to use the word 'screw.'" Grissom softly warned as he took one step closer to her.

Sara stood still in shock. She couldn't believe that Grissom had just said that out loud. Despite the fact that she had been furioius with him earlier and the fact that she was still a bit upset with him, she was incredibly turned on by his 'threat.'

_What will he do if I don't watch my mouth?_

She was feeling daring. Sara sashayed toward Grissom, closing the distance between them until she was standing right in front of him. She tilted her head up and waited until his eyes were drawn down to her lips. Enunciating each word slowly, she said, "Screw you."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Grissom said as he yanked Sara toward him and began kissing her as if his life depended on it.

Grissom's hands roamed her body. Up and down her arms. Down her back. Finally to her bottom as he pressed her closer to him.

Sara's hands were fisted in his hair –keeping his head down in place, like she was afraid that if she let go then he would stop.

The kisses. The touches. The soft words being spoken. All of it was an assault on her senses. She had never felt this way. This automatic combustion. It was exhilarating and scary as hell.

Grissom tore his lips from Sara's and she whimpered at the lost contact until he began pressing kisses along her jawline and the curve of her neck.

She made a little mewling sound. "Mmmm, Grissom. Grissom… wait. Wait," she repeated to get his attention.

Grissom stopped his ministrations and took a step back from Sara. "What?" _Please, don't let her think this is a mistake._

"Grissom, as much as I want what was about to happen to actually happen… I need to know. What happened? Why the change of heart? Did your control snap finally and I'm just going to be an easy lay?" She cringed as she asked the last question, but she had to know. Then she would decide what to do and how to proceed.

"No. No, Sara. I would never think of you that way. Never. What happened? Yeah, you could say my control snapped. You could say I finally came to my senses. Brass said something to me earlier this evening. Nothing new really just that I need to interact more with people and to not close myself off. But he also said that my forensic journals were not going to keep me warm on a cold night…"

"So I'm just a warm body, is that it?"

"No, that's not it. If I wanted to, then I could find a 'warm body.' I don't want to. I want you. And not just for tonight. I want more than this. I want more nights with you. And I want to wake up next to you. What I'm saying is that I want a relationship with you. I don't care about work. Rules. Policies. Screw it all. It means nothing. Absolutely nothing. This past week I have never been more miserable. I could not stand us not talking or when we did it felt so cold. Emotionless. I don't want that. So what do you say, Sara?" He was amazed at how much he had just revealed, but it felt good. It felt right. Sara needed to know that he wanted to try with her. He wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't running.

Sara had stayed silent throughout Grissom's speech. Slowing moving toward him, she said, "I think that my answer is yes. Most definitely yes! Let's do it." She started to grin and then to laugh at her choice of words. Grissom didn't seem to mind as he was grinning as he opened his arms to her.

She stepped into his arms and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She leaned in to give him a kiss. Breaking the kiss a few moments later, she said, a bit out of breath, "Bedroom is that way," and pointed in the direction for him to go.

Fifteen minutes later (because Sara had kept distracting him by alternating between nibbling and sucking on a sensitive spot she found behind his ear so naturally he had to back her up against the nearest wall he found and kiss her senseless), Grissom arrived in Sara's bedroom.

At the edge of her bed, he stopped and let Sara slide down his body, causing him to groan at the exquisite torture of having Sara so intimately close to him.

"Clothes. You have too many clothes on," Grissom mumbled against her throat where he was busy planting open mouthed kisses. Reaching behind her, he pulled the strings to untie her halter dress and reluctantly took a step back to allow the dress to fall. When it reached her ankles, Sara kicked the dress to the side.

She was standing in front of him wearing only her champagne colored lingerie and her gold stilletos. He had taken out her hair clip at some point so now her hair fell to her shoulders in soft waves.

"Sweet mother of…" Grissom whispered in complete reverence of the woman standing in front of him. She was every man's fantasy. And she was his.

Sara laughed, breaking the moment. "I don't think now's the time to be bringing up your mother…"

Grissom growled as he reached for her once again and proceeded to show her the many, many more interesting ways to use the word 'screw.'

FIN


End file.
